Congress has until March 14 to avert a shutdown.
WASHINGTONâRepublicans have released their proposal for extending government funding, but it faces hurdles in both chambers of Congress.
The 100-page continuing resolution (CR)âCapitol Hill parlance for a stopgap funding billâwould primarily extend funding past the March 14 deadline to Sept. 30.
But it also contains provisions that arenât primarily related to extending government funding, including the addition of some new defense and deportation appropriations, and some spending cuts.
While CRs generally rely on Democratsâ support to pass, given many Republicansâ hardline opposition to such measures in the past, Democrats have indicated they wonât help this timeâraising questions about whether the measure can pass both chambers.
President Donald Trump has backed the plan, as Republicansâ primary focus remains on crafting their budget legislation to implement his agenda.
Hereâs what to know about Republicansâ CR proposal with four days left until a shutdown.
New Funding, Spending Cuts
In addition to extending government funding, the CR would include new appropriations related to the Department of Defense and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while providing for some spending cuts.
Speaking about the bill on a March 8 press call, House Republican leadership staff said the CR would allow for $892.5 billion in defense spending, a slight increase over last year. It provides about $708 billion for nondefense spending, representing roughly an 8 percent reduction over the previous year.
Increases to ICE funding, which could help Trump in his efforts to carry out the largest deportation operation in American history, are primarily related to a years-long operating shortfall in the agency going back to President Joe Bidenâs administration, staffers said.
Johnson said the bill will âfreeze funding at current levels to make sure that the government can stay open while we begin to incorporate all these savings that weâre finding through the DOGE effort and these other sources of revenue that President Trumpâs policies are bringing to the table.â
Overall, staffers said this package provides $7 billion in savings over current funding levels.
Republican leadership has referred to the package as a âcleanâ CR, describing a CR without extraneous provisions.
According to Republican leadership staff, âanomaliesââprovisions not related solely to extending government fundingâare included for purposes of managing and administrating the executive branch based on requests from the Trump administration.
Bicameral Challenges
The legislation is likely to face some challenges in both chambers of Congress.
In the lower chamber, Johnson reigns over an effective single-seat majority.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a long-time opponent of CR legislation on principle whoâs shown himself willing to break with his conference on major issues already, could oppose the bill outright.
If Massie or some other House Republican takes a hardline stance against the package, Johnson wonât be able to spare any other defections with Democratsâ help.
And Democrats have made clear they wonât provide such help.
In a statement, House Democratic leadership said, âThe partisan House Republican funding bill recklessly cuts healthcare, nutritional assistance and $23 billion in veterans benefits,â a reference to the billâs zeroing out of the Toxic Exposures Fund.
âEqually troublesome, the legislation does nothing to protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, while exposing the American people to further pain throughout this fiscal year,â the statement continued.
They vowed to vote ânoâ on the package.
Some House Democratsâlike Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas)âcould support the package as well, which could provide crucial votes in the House.
Should it pass the House in its current form, it could also face challenges in the Senate, where it would need at least 60 votes to overcome the filibuster.
As in the House, a number of Senate Republicansâaround 15 to 25, depending on the voteâhave historically opposed CR bills outright.
Traditionally, this hasnât been a significant hurdle, as most CR legislation that makes it to the upper chamber wins bipartisan support.
Some Senate Democratsâlike Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.)âhave already indicated openness to passing a CR on grounds of avoiding a government shutdown.
However, itâs unclear if the bill could win the 60 votes needed to proceed to the final passage.
Despite these challenges, Republicans may be willing to fall in line behind this package, given its net savings of $7 billion. Trumpâs support, meanwhile, will bolster the billâs odds, particularly in the lower chamber.
Most Republicans say they want to focus on funding Trumpâs agenda, as Johnson has set a goal of achieving final passage through the Senate by around the beginning of May.
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
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